prakrit Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun any of the modern Indic languages
  2. noun any of the vernacular Indic languages of north and central India (as distinguished from Sanskrit) recorded from the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD

WordNet


Pra"krit noun
Etymology
Skr. prak&rsdot;ta original, natural, usual, common, vulgar.
Definitions
  1. Any one of the popular dialects descended from, or akin to, Sanskrit; -- in distinction from the Sanskrit, which was used as a literary and learned language when no longer spoken by the people. Pali is one of the Prakrit dialects.

Webster 1913